Information on Saab

Saab cars are manufactured by a Swedish company called, SAAB Automobile AB. The company is a subsidiary of automobile major General Motors Corporation. The Company was owned by SAAB till 1990. SAAB stood for, “Svenska Aeroplan Aktie (B)olaget”. The Company used to manufacture aeroplanes for the Air force and with the end of World War II; the company started looking at other options and entered the passenger Car Business.

The first Car Manufactured by the company was Saab 92 which the company brought out in 1949. The Saab 92 was followed by Saab 93 in1955 and then came Saab 95 and Saab 96. Saab 99 was the next car brought out by the manufacturer in 1970 and in 1977 they came out with a turbocharger version of the same. The company tied up with FIAT and sold their car Lancia Delta as Saab 600. They also came out with a new model called Saab 9000 which was similar in many ways to the FIAT cars Lancia Thema, Fiat Croma and Alfa Romeo 164. SAAB was doing extremely good business especially with the introduction of turbocharged vehicles but in the 80s the company seemed to have lost its way and the supply far exceeded the demand. They had a huge stock of unsold vehicles and the company went into heavy losses. The passenger vehicle manufacture shifted from Saab-Scania to Saab Automobile AB, a new company.

On 15 March, 1990 50% of the company was purchased by General Motors. A new version of the Saab 900 was launched in 1993 which was an instant success and the company made a profit in 1995 for the first time in 7 years. In the year 2000, SAAB General Motors bought the remaining 50% of SAAB making it a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

Saab currently manufactures Saab 9-3 which is a compact car and is manufactured in the Company’s plant in Sweden. The convertible version of this car is manufactured in Austria. The car is similar to the Cadillac BLS. The Company also manufactures Saab 9-5 which was supposedly a replacement for the Saab 9000 in its plant in Sweden and the car was very successful. It was launched in 1997. The Saab 9-7X a SUV from its manufacturing unit in Ohio. It is a mid-size SUV. The SUV even though mid- sized is the most expensive vehicle in its category and the most expensive car ever manufactured by Saab. The company plans to manufacture a crossover SUV which would be there for all to see in 2009.

Saab vehicles have done very well in the past and the company went through a lean patch in the 80s but after the takeover of Saab Automobiles AB by General Motors the company has seen a revival and is making profits and is back to seeing the good times it had seen in the past. The company has big plans for the future and is all set to bring out better vehicles to give a tough time to its competitors.